


The Siren and The Healer

by MaladaptiveNinjaReturns



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Dream Sex, F/F, F/M, Mutual Pining, Nightmares, Platonic Relationships, Power Imbalance, Power Play, Red Room (Marvel), Soul Bond, Soulmates, star crossed lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2020-06-24 02:11:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19714174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaladaptiveNinjaReturns/pseuds/MaladaptiveNinjaReturns
Summary: With cracks between the most powerful superheroes of the earth, Natasha Romanoff does not find rest when she is assigned on a mission to find the missing pieces of a puzzling power that once nearly got into the hands- rather, tentacles- of Hydra. In order to unearth the pieces, she must dig through her own past and make a decision that might decide the fate of the earth in the coming wars.





	1. Prologue

The silence of vacuum is unlike any other. There is an absolute absence of any disturbance around you. Purest form of final layers, muted. Here, you can hear no one. Here, no one can hear you. It is that plane of metaphorical peace where one truly zones out every other bit of noise. No sensation disturbs your auditory senses. Nothing grazes your nerve endings. It is plain deadly silence. But the lull of vacuum in space is a phenomenon of its own kind. Everything around you is dark and light all at the same time. Alluring in every sense. Even as you are feeling your final breaths being scooped out of you by an invisible hand, gushing out of your throat to bring all the molecules out of your lungs, you are sure to think at least once that it might actually not be a bad place to die after all.

That was Loki’s thought. The view of his galactic home was the last thing he saw when he had come to and was the last thing he thought he would see as his sluggish healing under the fatal injuries could not keep up with the foreign space around him, eroding his existence cell by cell, chipping away at his skin bit by bit into the void surrounding him, nearly causing him to choke on the grim memories of the last time he was aimlessly floating in space like this, accelerating his breathless state and heart burning in the cold that bitterly surrounded his body.

Today, unlike the day he let the void swallow him wholly to find that peace in death which he could not find in his life or in his family, his tears made a hushed satellite call to no one in particular - a prayer from the God for some sign. He did not even know who he was asking for. There was no one left now. Nothing to go back or look forward to. He didn't know if his brother had made it out alive. The last trace of his supposed family gone for all he knew.

And still, a thought passed him. A thought of his mother’s warm embrace. The one thing he had reminisced time and again in his mind so as not to forget her face after her death. And even as he floated in the infinite abyss, he internally chuckled at himself for living his last moment just like he had lived his first - alone.

 _So the chaos that was me was born to be undone by chaos, after all,_ he thought to himself, feeling the final choke of the empty inside his body.

He saw his floating hands turn blue in front of him before the frost gathered. Why was death such a slow and dull process? His red eyes felt the pinch of the frost as they began blurring his vision; the illuminated space around him gradually turning white.

_And the monster dies the death that was written for him in the stone he was abandoned upon on the day he was born._

The frost gnawed with a warm glow near his cheek. It would have made him flinch, if he could in that situation, for this was nothing like the cold he was used to. He waited for it to dissipate in his final second and nudge him into eternal sleep if not into a specially made hell.

But it did nothing of that sort. It only glowed further; growing into an uninvited warmth that slowly penetrated his skin before he could fathom the absurdity of unknown energy illuminating him on the inside. The white in front of his eyes started to melt away a little, allowing him to see an obscurity floating beside him. He wanted to speak but the icy dryness inside his throat prevented him from doing so.

 _Who are you?_ A confused mellifluous feminine voice ran throughout his nerves, reigniting the functioning sparks that had been dying a few seconds ago, feeling a wave of warmth wash inside him.

He felt it should be him asking that question to this stranger before he felt the same spirit engulfing his hand where the fuzzy figure floated beside him. He felt a surge of chagrin inside him - now that death was leaving him reluctantly - as he realised it was the figure’s hands warming his face and palm. He wanted to take one good look at the face of the one picking him up from the frustrated grip of annihilation, and he nearly caught a glimpse of beady brown eyes staring back at him before a blazing light instantly made them disappear along with the figure that bore them, flooding his vision with a golden white before he felt himself colliding with a solid surface.

“What the hell, Rocket?!” A tired groan left the God as he slid off the glass and into unconsciousness. “You killed a man!”

______

It was one of those midsummer mornings where the ceiling fan was enough to remove the hefty sweat the hot fireball outside had been working on for quite some time but the obnoxious breeze would just twirl its way through the greenery surrounding your house before coming through your door and windows to take away the unnecessary heat.

There was no humdrum outside but you still woke up because something had been tickling your brain for quite a while. A thought was hiding somewhere behind those everyday intricate speculations like one stubborn louse that you know is there but it just wouldn’t come out.

You could see the garden outside and the wall marking the boundary as you walked from your living room towards the door. The house in front seemed to have freshly painted their outer walls- either that or the sun hitting them from behind your home seemed to do the trick. It was barely two steps to the door now when you saw them.

A man in a blue mask- wait, was that a mask or a...helmet- with wings painted on each side of the head wearing matching blue uniform with a star right in the middle of his chest.

_Is that a frisbee? Why is he running with such a huge frisbee?_

Your mind was still trying to figure out what to make of this when another man came running from the same direction before suddenly coming to a halt to take a stick from his backside and give it a slight jerk to turn it into a bow while his other hand was already placing an arrow over it to shoot whatever it was that you could not see from where you stood. So curiosity took your neck and turned it with the movement of the men dressed funny, running in your street as if they knew what they were doing.

“What are you doing here?”

“Gah!”

The green eyes staring directly at you through the door did not take you by as much surprise as the flaming hair all around that mildly shocked, smouldering face. Giving five seconds to your brain to dilute the shock and you realised those weren’t flames, just this strange, beautiful woman’s hair.

“I live here.” you finally blurted out, watching the woman turned to look at the man with a frisbee aim it at something in the sky which- again- you were not able to get a good look at.

_Oh for fuck’s sake!_

Opening the door, you stepped on your porch to see what all the ruckus was about in your quaint neighbourhood.

“Who are you? What are _you_ doing here?”

You were used to people give you the ‘are you kidding me’ face but it felt creepily horrifying coming from this complete stranger.

“You know who I am,” she scoffed in your face before the line between her brows became more prominent, “we’re here for the healer.”

“The healer?” you asked half-heartedly, your attention drawn towards something blowing up in the distance, “who’s that?”

You didn’t hear a response and hence strained your neck to look back at her only to find her standing there looking at you in pure confusion.

“What?”

 _That_ was supposed to be a question till you saw the huge yellow monstrous eyes behind her blink and contract before an alien growl broke through the air, waking you up from your nightmare.


	2. The Mission

**Time: 1600 hrs**

**Location: WAKANDA**

“Two years. I go away for two years and these pea-brained men break the one thing I have worked so hard on.”

Even pissed, Fury looked the cutest to Natasha. She could tell he was trying his best to seem enraged but this assassin had known the ex-director of SHIELD long enough to tell when he was feeling something and depicting something else.

“You may have brought them together with one goal, Nick, but the boyband had different agendas.”

“And what did the only woman of the boyband want?”

She could feel the softness in his rigid voice. It only went soft when he knew. This time, just like every other, he wasn’t wrong. “The woman wanted those pea-brained men to work it out. But now she’s gone solo for a while. She said screw them. She wants some me-time.”

Fury chuckled before taking Natasha into his embrace. The hug was partly because he had missed his favourite spy and mostly because he realised amongst all that had gone down in the past few weeks, she had been the only one searching for a neutral ground.

"Hmm," Natasha hummed as she finally broke away from the warm hug and looked at Fury, "staying in with Goose is really making you mushy, Nick."

Fury scoffed and Natasha chuckled. "Please! You are the only one who gets the hugs. Don't tell Barton that. Or Tony for that matter. I don't know how he'll use it against me. And I don't wanna know."

This was nice. Natasha was already feeling better now that she was away from the constant conflict and brooding- not to mention discreet pining- of her two boys. Wakanda was welcoming. The air was like no other. Wrapped up in the warmth of the African sun, bringing with it the coolness of the forests along with the local beats, cuddling with nature while prospering faster than the rest of the earth in every term.  _ Tony would love this _ , she thought to herself,  _ though he would be more curious about the genius mind behind all of this and readily try to recruit them. _

Children scuttled about, playing hop-scotch and hide-and-seek, their innocent and restraint-free cackles filling the air with their mellifluous everyday fun. The local shops had quite a variety of accessories lined up for everyone. Bags and baskets made with intricate handiwork, decorated with beads, stones and soft clay tones of art depicting the everyday Wakandan life. Many even had the Dora Milage adorning them. Masterpieces, truly. But that was not all. Young girls and boys had their own sections in the square to display their latest science projects. A girl had made a miniature help-bot, taking requests for the books you wanted in the library and fetching it for you- here, from the topmost shelf of the lone bookstand that housed all the books this young one had read at least twice. Another group had designed gloves for the elderly and the ones suffering from Parkinson's to help them with their daily routines. The gloves had the ability to absorb vibrations and motions and convert it into electricity to help the person charge their device by holding them.

"Ndingayifumana le?" Natasha asked the little girl sitting with her mother at one of the sections selling their hand-made backpacks, pointing at the one in all black adorned with stones and metals around the purple outline of a panther.

The girl smiled at her and nodded. Her wavy brown hair bounced as she skipped to the back of the shop to get a jute bag to wrap the backpack in before running back to the front. "Ndiza kwabelana ngemfihlo kunye nawe," the little one mentioned, gesturing from her hands to lean closer to her. Natasha did exactly what the girl asked her to, genuinely interested in what secrets she was about to spill. "Inepokotho efihliweyo apho unokuzifihla imipu yakho," she whispered, showing her customer the secret compartment.

Natasha 'ooh'ed in excitement.

"Nala," her mother gave her a stern stare but her voice was soft for her child.

"Ngu-Black Widow, umama," the little one stressed towards her mother, making Natasha feel a mild jolt in her heart.

"Does everyone here know who I am?" she had to ask Fury, who merely shrugged.

"Well, you got them their favourite broken white boy, so..." he flailed his hands.

Taking the backpack carefully packed and put inside the jute bag, Natasha and Fury walked towards the road less travelled- towards Shuri’s laboratory.

The lab itself was a brilliant piece of work. Natasha could really feel the waves from every wall and equipment declaring they were Shuri's and they would always be Shuri's- loyal to the bone. And yet the air was the most welcoming to her- along with the scarce number of people greeting her with a smile on her way. But the brilliant young scientist was nowhere to be seen for now.

"So, what is it Fury?" she finally had to ask, "you drag me away from my me-time at Bora Bora to this spectacular lab."

Nick's smile was warm.

_ Uh-oh _ , Natasha thought, _ that meant trouble. _

He gestured her towards the private office. "You and I both know you could have not survived Bora Bora for even three days, woman."

She chuckled.  _ Well, he wasn't wrong. _

“I have some work for you. Actually, it was Nakia who brought in the work. So, you can thank her or curse her.”

Fury waved his hand over the table to produce a holograph of virtual files in front of him. He opened up the first one and produced newspaper clippings.

"Remember the faint 2012 rumours among the people in the black market about an ancient weapon that had been 'discovered' somewhere in India that could, and I quote, ‘wipe out an entire state, even an entire country if used...correctly’. Hydra had been looking for the weapon at that time. They even discovered the location of the weapon but for some reason lost contact with their team the very day they were supposed to move it."

Natasha looked at the screen, an uneasy emotion clouding her face. Fury saw her hand move to the side of her stomach.

“The entire team vanished.” She said, looking at the images of recorded conversations of Hydra. “How many were there?”

Fury did not take his eyes off of her.

“Five. Three assassins, one translator, one strategist.”

Natasha was confused now.

“Assassins to handle a weapon?”

Fury nodded, “Look at the conversations from a week before the D-day. They talked about some sort of organisation or a coven. The weapon was either fortified or was being exploited by them. Either case required them to move it effortlessly, no matter the lives it cost.”

Natasha moved through the files for more information.

“How huge is this weapon?”

“We don’t know. Here, play the last conversation recorded by the Hydra HQ with their extraction team.”

Natasha clocked on the audio file. The entire room was filled with the crackling noise from the conversation.

**Voice 1** _ : HQ! Are you there? *heavy breathing* _

**Voice 2** _ : Yes, this is HQ. _

**Voice 1** _ : Is the line secure? _

**Voice 2** _ : The line is secure. Confirm your status. _

**Voice 1** _ : We have discovered the whereabouts of the weapon. There has been a casualty from the enemy’s side. The Director needs to hear this. _

**Voice 2:** _ Where is the weapon? _

**Voice 1** _ : Call the Director to the phone right now. We are on our way to the extraction location. *in the background* Carlos, Thomas, ready your weapons. _

**Voice 3** _ : Boss, something’s wrong. The bomb, it’s gone off. _

**Voice 1:** _ What?! Son of a bitch! Carlos! You were supposed to wait for the signal. _

**Voice 3:** _ It’s not my fault! I didn’t do anything. Something’s wrong. _

**Voice 2** _ : What is happening? _

**Voice 1** _ : Why is there no signal? We lost the tracker. Boys! What is going on? _

**Voice 4** _ : I cannot reach Alyn. He’s not responding. _

_ *sound of tire screeching to a halt* _

**Voice 1** _ : What the hell? Is that Alyn on the ground? _

**Voice 4:** _ Oh no! Oh God no! Look! _

**Voice 2:** _ What is going on there? Confirm your status! _

**Voice 1** _ : It’s coming for us. Get out of here. It’s coming for us. _

**Voice 3** _ : There’s something in the shadows. Goddammit, it’s huge! _

_ *a screeching sound and periodic hum followed by screams * _

_ *the line goes blank* _

“What was that?”

“My guess right now is as good as yours. I have people working on the frequencies to see if they match some alien source that we have met before. Apart from that, is this,” Fury concluded as he handed her a file.

Natasha took the file. Zelda-Kane 12-16, it read.

“Nakia was hunting down a group involved in human trafficking across the African continent and south Asia when she came across someone who was quite closely related to the mission.”

She turned the pages to look at the detailed work and findings of the Wakandan spy and came across a photograph. Her fingers stopped.

"Yuri Chekhov- the director of the failed mission to bring the weapon under the tentacles of Hydra. He has been involved with the group for some time now."

Fury knew he didn't even have to say his name for Natasha remembered that face all too well.

And suddenly she was back in the Red Room with a much younger version of Yuri standing in front of him, covered in blood all over, his dead grey eyes looking straight through her. Trying to find that little girl with red eyes inside Natalia. The girl who could bring chaos without blinking.

Fury's voice brought her back.

"He was operating through India for the past five years. No dirty dealings, no weapons exchange on the black market, nothing- almost like this guy was trying to stay under the radar."

"And he's made a move recently. That's why I'm here. That’s why you are here." Natasha was calm as ever.

That was what Fury admired the most about her. He knew this was going to hit home but he also knew Natasha Romanoff was not the one to let it get in the way.

"He was sighted in Vienna last week. So was Hansel Meldrake- the one who's behind all alien remnants market in Europe. He is the one involved with the notorious group that supplies his scientists with test subjects. All of them victims of human trafficking”

Fury closed the hologram and passed a flash drive to Natasha.

She looked out the window and breathed. It was evening already.

The city outside was lit up like it was celebrating tonight. He saw her admiring the view before realizing it wasn’t the city she was looking at.

“Now if you want I can contact—”

"No. You're not contacting anyone," her composed voice declared in one go, "I can handle this alone."

He knew it would come to this. He had always known.

"Natasha. I won't have your back on this one. We won't be meeting any time soon. The only reason this file is in your hands is because of Nakia. Are you sure you want to take these guys down alone? At least Cli-"

"Don’t." Natasha closed the file in a flash and he knew he couldn't do anything now.

And she was back in the Red Room standing in front of Yuri, looking into his dead, grey eyes.

Rusalka, they said in the most innocent yet dead voice.

"It's time I faced some demons alone."

.

He felt the softness of those hands again.  _ So tender. So warm. Yet, they are not his mothers. Mother had a different way about her touch. These? These are different. Too soft. Too welcoming. Why? _ No pair of hands has been as welcoming to him. Ever. All of them had a motive. All of them wanted something.

"What do you want?" he shouted at them.

They didn't say anything. Only kept caressing him. Gentle strokes on his forehead, absorbing away all heaviness form his head, combing his hair, letting some manner of light enter them at every nuzzle of those fingers.

Too comfortable for his own good.

"Who are you?"

The same voice came back again.

It was the same feminine voice he heard when he was on the verge of standing by the gates of Hel.

_ Oh, Valhalla, who is this utterly blasphemous ray of sunshine snatching me from the claws of death? _

"Hey, weasel! Wake Up!"

Loki's eyes shot open, his lungs gasping for air as he shot himself to the other end of the ship to get away from whatever menace had been hovering over him.

"Holy shit!" the raccoon spoke without hesitation- even a tad bit of excessive boldness one might say- while Loki looked around at the faces judging him from head to toe.

"Damn! Is he homeless?" He heard the man in the weird leather jacket speak.

"I am Groot," said the little Groot.

"No, we adopted Mantis because she is one of the good guys. We still have to figure this one out," the racoon spoke again.

And that's when he saw her.

And she saw him, her immaculate green face feeling a mild shock before scrunching up her face.

"You!" Loki and Gamora said in unison, reverberating with the vibes to take out their daggers to slit the other's throat any second now.

And before anyone else could even speculate about that reaction, daggers were out, fingers were curled into fists, teeth snarling at each other and legs covering the distance between them to just snap at each other right at that moment.

"Would you two stop or do I have to knock you out like last time?"

The figure casually leaning by the freezer announced before gulping down the beer bottle in her hand. She sounded tired. Maybe she was.

"Nebula," Loki greeted the other sister with less contempt as compared to the other. "You and your sister better have a good reason to kidnap me."

Both scoffed and chuckled while the other man raised his brow with no understanding of what exactly was going on.

"Um, excuse me-"

"Is he who calls himself the Star-Lord?" Loki thought out loud, looking at Peter standing there, words that were interrupted now dissolving in his mouth.

"Well, yes I am Star-" he was on the edge of blushing, really hard, when Loki interrupted him again.

"Is this the man you chose to love, Gamora?!" he nearly guffawed, leaving Quill shocked; hurt too when Loki clutched his stomach because the laughter hurt him too much.

"I hate this guy," Peter muttered. Rocket simply shrugged. "I mean that was my reaction too, Quill. Can't really blame him, ya know."

"What the hell are you even doing here, Loki Odinson." Gamora made sure she stressed the last word as much as she could, to pinch Loki right where it hurt.

Loki looked at her with a questioning gaze before shrugging. "I don't know."

"I mean, one moment I was dying and the next-" he gestured at the entirety surrounding him.

"Hm, what sort of demon is keeping you from dying and returning to hell?" Nebula quirked, biting into the blue strawberries kept specially for her on the ship.

Loki sighed, reforming every little detail inside his dream, every little touch, every minute excitement that his nerves felt. He could feel every bit of sensation all over again. Well, that was the thing- he could feel everything and yet, for some reason, he could not remember that face.

"Whoever that was," he was thinking out loud without even noticing, "was one heck of a demon."


	3. The Stranger

**Time: 2200 hrs**

**Location: Vienna**

The little Iron Man funko pop had been entertaining you for the last two hours when the remaining contents of Harry’s table could not. By now you were practically half lying on his table, the chair rolling to and fro while you hummed the tune to Tender’s Nadir, bobbing your head like your little friend to the rhythm. Harry’s colleague- another assistant professor in the department- had come by to collect his stuff from his desk while you waited. “Why don’t you leave and he’ll come when he can,” he had mentioned, drawing a stare of judgment from you.  _ Leave him? What am I? A monster? I can’ just ‘leave’ him. He’s Harry, man! Shut your trap hole! _

"I'm so sorry Koshu. I had to collect some assignments from the students." Harry started with loud gasps of breath before he’s even entered the room. You were kinda bummed he knew you were there. You really wanted to surprise him. Though you had to say, you loved seeing him all flustered. It was quite a rare sight for you. You always so calm and composed friend never broke a sweat no matter how hard things were. Well, the things that were hard for you were a smooth sail for Harry. Even though you’d both come here to study and research in artificial intelligence, you had just dropped out of the course after the first semester and taken to teaching minor courses and skills while learning some yourself. He, on the other hand, had been acing it ever since he got here, winning scholarships and accolades. Not to mention the hearts of all ladies and interested men. And what did Harry do about it? Be as innocently unaware about it all as your crush on him.  _ Stupid son of a sexy goofball! _

"Look at you, all red and sweaty! I bet Sammy would love to have you now." you giggled.

Harry stood beside you for a second, blank, until he realised what you meant and flushed a fresh batch of red.  _ Yeah, exes tend to have then effect sometimes.  _ A part of you was glad to have that woman out of the picture- that part being the whole of you. No one wants a toxic girlfriend who wants you because you’re hot and then thinks she rather not because ‘I don’t know, Harry, you’re not as outgoing as I thought my boyfriend would be.’ She should have been glad you were on another continent at that time.

"Yeah. Whatever. Hey, I have to grade these assignments so why don't you head home. I'll finish these and then come back,” Harry admitted before wiping the sweat off his forehead.  _ Ugh! Stop it you tease! _ Your inner voice was really having a day.

"What? Take them home! I'll cook us some pasta or Indian if you are craving some. Get comfy and then grade these bitches."

Harry raised his brows at you.

“That was for the papers. Not for you students....who do comprise of certain stuck ups if you ask me.”

He blinked before shrugging and nodding in agreement. Hesitating for a moment, he remained quiet, the corner of his lips twitching where it met his beard.

"Yeah, I'm comfy here. You go ahead."

It was your turn to raise arch your brow at him.

"Dude! Stop it!” you lectured, raising her hands in the air. “It’s okay for you to do the laundry but it’s not okay if I cook food for the both of us? And it’s not like I’m a bad cook that you avoid eating my hard work. This is called sharing responsibilities, something, I clearly remember, you lectured me on when we first came here. And I like cooking, it’s like a stress-buster. And I make awesome Indian food and a mean Chicken Alfredo."

“...”

“I do...don’t I?”

"Yeah, that you do."

"Thank God. So come home, you twat. Pack those things and let's move. I'm hungry. Let's go before I eat your brains."

Harry smiled sheepishly at his failed attempt for a second and then beamed with happiness from within.

"Alright. Go heat up the car. I'll bring all the material with me.”

You got up with a gush of new energy flowing inside you. Taking the keys from him, you walked for the door.

“Oh! And don't leave without me okay?" He called out from behind you, making you stop, turn and give him a narrow-eyed look. Harry laughed and dodged the duster you threw at him. "Jerk," you hissed through your teeth as you started walking towards the parking lot.

It was only seven in the evening but the sky had already bid goodnight. There were barely any students on the campus. You could hear EDM being played at a distance at some frat house or in someone's dorm.  _ Kids _ , you thought to yourself, as if mocking them. And then again, you thought to yourself,  _ kids _ \- but now with wistful faraway happiness.

There were only four cars in the parking lot. An old Camry that belonged to a history professor who took night classes. Another one was a Bentley that belonged to a highly infamous professor of Personality Development. The man taught more about himself than about personalities. You never liked that guy.

_ This guy creeps me out from a mile away, _ your insides would always remind you.

The last one was an unknown SUV that stood a few meters away from Harry's car. It did not belong to any student or staff you knew.

You took a good look at it as you crossed it and moved to Harry's second hand, Honda. If there was anything Harry and you loved in common more than food, and a bit less than animals, it was this sweet lady. One could find notes, spare T-shirts, cologne, deodorants and much more in there. It could easily be called your second home.

Both of you had spent nights sleeping through all the tipsy- after wild parties during the first year- in this baby. This one had been with you when you’d got here and did not have a dark corner to cry in. Or when you and Harry needed to run away from the buzz of the city and escape into the mountains to rest under the stars and talk about all your deepest desires, darkest secrets and nethermost questions about life and purpose. Not to mention, you’d cleaned up this baby on Harry’s first date just so this guy would get some action- which clearly didn’t happen for this terribly shy guy. This car had been a constant in it all and had even been knighted with a name.

“Hey Bunny! Did you miss mama? How was my girl today?” 

You were about to open Bunny’s door when your eyes went back to the SUV.

Matte black. Alloy wheels, clearly not of cheap quality. Weird number plate which was not from the state and a little metallic sword that hung from the rearview mirror inside- reflecting the lights from the parking lot right into your eyes.

Something did not feel right. You stood there for a few seconds looking in the parking lot for any sign of the owner.

“It is supposed to look intimidating.”

You jumped at the voice behind you.

A man came out of the shadows of the trees. He was wearing a grey suit and a pin bent in the shape of an eye with what seemed to be a ruby in the middle.

You closed Bunny’s door and locked the vehicle, carefully placing the car keys between your fingers so as to point them away from you and put the other hand around your bag. You took two steps back into the middle of the parking lot, standing visibly under the lights.

“I’m sorry, Sir, do I know you?”

The man stepped into the light. The wrinkles on his face made him look a bit over forty but his well-fitted suit around his body made him look younger and muscular. His grey eyes looked right into yours with a hint of a smile on his thin smooth lips.

“No, ma’am. But I have heard about you.”

You stepped further back into the most lit part of the lot.

“Can I help you, sir?”

You just now noticed the restraint in your voice- into a softer, smoother version of how you normally talked. This always happened when you were intimidated by the person standing in front of you.

“I have been looking for someone who could help me with this concept that is completely out of my league. But considering the things that are at stake, I was hoping you could help me.”

You looked in his direction, confused. More than that, you were frustrated, wondering where the campus guards were.

“I am talking about healing and meditation studies. A few kids who are visiting Europe on a foreign exchange program have shown some interest in getting certified in the course. And I heard you have some sort of experience with that thing.”

The man smiled, this time, his lips extended a bit more while his eyes still stayed grey. Your entire body feel a cold jitter all at once. His eyes. There was just something unsettling about them. Like they were looking right through your clothes, skin, flesh, and bones. 

“Oh! I’m sorry sir. I taught last semester and that was that. I no longer teach or practice it. But you can find teachers for the same more capable than me in the classes going on right now. In fact, the students can directly contact them. Their information is available on the university website.”

The man tilted his head a little as if he was questioning something you just stated.

“Really? You stopped teaching the course? But why? I met some of your students and they gave me really amazing reviews regarding your teaching methods.”

You felt drops of sweat trickle down your back. For a few seconds there, all you did was just blink and feel the fierceness of your heart trying to rise up a little. Finally, you gave a weak smile before answering. “It wasn’t suitable for me. I mean the timings and the hours I had to put in. It was sort of taking a toll on my health. So I don’t do it anymore. I don’t take classes. Neither do I freelance.”

The man was silent for a second while you felt her phone in her jacket. One wrong step and you were ready to press the button of wrath.

“So you’re telling me that  _ healing and meditation _ took a toll on you.”

You let out one long tired sigh.  _ Here we go.  _ You’d heard that phrase before, more times than you could count.

“Yes, sir”, you muttered, your voice suddenly growing tired, “it does take a toll on you if you’re not careful.”

You wanted to take a look behind you to see if Harry was approaching but did not turn for the fear of the unknown now standing in front of you.

“Careful about what?”

“The things you work on, the ailments for example, who you work with, what energy you are going to work upon slash with,'' you stressed, though stressing as little as you could on the ‘energy’ bit.

“Oh! Like if someone was, say, in an accident, you wouldn’t treat them because that might take a toll on your health. So, you’d  _ rather  _ that person suffer than be treated by you.”

The statement took you by surprise. You had been thinking the man was a sceptical old pervert but here he was asking you questions a healer’s heckler noob does not play with so early.

“Excuse me?” you lost your voice a little. “Sir, it’s a lot more complica—”

The man looked away from you to take out a card from his jacket and hold it out for you to take.

“Why don’t you tell me all about it tomorrow at 8:15 am? Your ride’s here so let’s continue this tomorrow. I’m sure being a healer you have a good reason to  _ not _ heal someone. Even a…” he paused, his dead eyes looking straight into yours, “loved one.”

And suddenly you were not standing in the parking lot anymore. The dead eyes stayed there with you as everything around you seemed to fade into the distance. Only the eyes, your cold body sweating and a familiar old voice shouting out for you from somewhere far away were present in the void.

_ Keosha. _

You could almost recognize that faint noise accompanying it. A fade white noise was what it seemed to be initially. A part of your mind tried to filter out where exactly where it was coming from. 

_ Keosha. _

It grew closer but now it was somewhat different. You thought you heard someone scream somewhere in the distance.

“Keosha!” Harry shook your arm.

You jumped back into reality, nearly a feet away from Harry’s grasp.

“Hey! Daydreamer!” He called out for you, taking one careful step towards you so as not to scare you away again. “You okay? Where did you go?”

You supported yourself on Bunny. Harry noticed the slow blinks, realising you had been living through some part of your wayward imagination that was not a pleasant one. So, he did what he always did during such times. Rubbing your back to soothe you before taking you in a light embrace.

Your heart was comforted by Harry’s presence, thanking him repeatedly for being there. Your mind was all over the place, looking around you for the cause of this sudden crack inside your mind. The old man was gone.

“Sorry I just got lost in…something. Should we go? We should go.”

Your body worked on its own, getting into the car, closing the door, putting on a radio station to drown out the echo of words left behind.


	4. The Doubts

Nebula looked out at the ethereal reality of warm tones surrounding them as the ship sailed through another one of the cosmic clouds, on their way to the nearest filling stop before their stop for their next bounty. The space was everything she thought she was not. Vast, glowing, versatile, deadly and at the same time magnificent. It was too beautiful to miss even the smallest corner. Too stunning to miss breathing it in instead of the commotion going by in the ship somewhere.

“You seem well.”

Now there is something she would have never missed for anything in the world had she not been helping her insane father annihilate the universe. By the mere tones, she could remember every last breath she shared with him when they were working together. Rather, when she was supposedly working him.

“Compared to the last time-”

“I’m not that person anymore,” Nebula quipped too quickly, turning her head to find Loki standing right next to her. Right in her space. And her insides surprisingly seemed fine with it.

“Of course,” Loki agreed and Nebula couldn’t help but notice the warm glow the nearest star left on the frost giant’s face when he wasn’t brooding. Slowly, bits of their time together were coming back to her. The day they were having a duel to measure each other’s strength. More like the day they were looking for ways to break the other in any way they could find.

“You look-” she stopped to give him a once over before giving that blink-and-you-miss tilt of her head- “battered.”

Loki chuckled. She hadn’t changed much. Something Loki was happy to find out. Just like that day when he overpowered her on the battlefield, making her raging cries come out at him with no restraints. He never truly liked how she had been broken by her excuse of a father; he knew about that experience all too well. But he liked the fact that she could never be undone by any enemy she faced.

Until that fateful night after the fruitful battle.

“I was supposedly killed by your-by Thanos.”

Nebula felt her head swing at her with the same intensity as that star in front of them. He could still see the same sharpness in her dark eyes as he did that day when he had taken her by her arms and pushed her into the wall, leaning in closer to her lips till she had realised what had really been going on.

“But one moment I was floating and waiting for death to take me to Hel and the very next I was…”

There it was again. Nebula knew this look. That look in Loki’s eyes when his pupils dilated just right amount on him encountering the unknown and- unlike his usual way of keeping his guard up- loving every single bit of it. That was the look she had received when she had pushed him over the tousled sheets and got on top of him.

“Being saved,” she finished the emotions he seemed to be floating in at that moment.

Loki looked at her and for a second there she hated that tender look from him.

“And then your sister tells me you have all lived near about five years before you reversed it all.”

“Stark did,” Nebula was quick to mention, never missing that slight surprise in those green eyes before it is quickly mixed with wonder and just a swig of contentment. But just as soon as those shades arrive, they run away, making a place for a morbid concern.

“Is...is he…”

She blinked at him before slowly turning back to watch the star.

Loki felt a strange hue emanating from Nebula. A whiff of this new feeling. Was that...was that love? For Stark? What had happened to her for her to empathise with a mortal, even though it was Stark himself? What had gone down while he had died and come back to life?

“We’ll be making jumps soon-” Nebula clears her throat, her body going rigid, readying itself as her arms went to her sides- “better find a corner to hide or a support to hold on to.”

And she left Loki to stand in the chromatic tones created by the light entering the windows, colouring him in all shades whilst he watched her disappear around the corner, leaving him with bittersweet memories of the past and a sour taste of present.

___

 **Time** : 0600 hrs

 **Location** : Austria

The clouds above the European country were a soft welcome for the Wakandan heli-carrier. The first sun rays bounced off them with the softest of glow, entering the heli-carrier and putting a smile on the pilot’s face as she took the world outside Wakanda in for the first time.

“ _Aneka, my sister_ ” a voice called from the holographic image beside the controls in front of her.

“General,” Aneka greeted Okoye with her arms crossed against her chest. Okoye returned the greeting.

_“Have there been any developments since you left Wakanda?”_

Aneka transferred Okoye to the table in the middle of the control room where a document titled Yuri Chekhov lay. She tapped it open for Okoye to see.

“Yuri Chekov’s location has been narrowed down. He was seen visiting the local University last night and spotted in the city early this morning. But no one else from his contacts or dealers have been sighted with him. Should I bring him in, nonetheless, General?

Okoye looked at Aneka, her face stoic ever.

_“No, Aneka. You are in no way to sway from the orders you have been given. You are aiding the Avenger in her mission at the request of your king. Nothing more. You are to stick to gathering intel on the human trafficking activities of his dealer.”_

Okoye’s expression did not falter for even a second. 

_Ever the composed one_ , Aneka thought. _No wonder she was chosen as our General._

“Yes, General. For the king.”

“ _Now, where is the Avenger?”_

Aneka let in a huge chunk of air before getting it out of her flared nostrils. “She went into the _Ingcambu_ chamber three hours ago.”

Okoye took her eyes away from the screen, looking at something far beyond the halls she stood in right now. The movement in her shoulders told Aneka there was something her General was considering quite seriously. It was best she wasn’t bothered by her thoughts.

“ _Update me when you land,_ ” she finally spoke, “ _If things get too ugly, you will have reinforcement on speed dial in the Avenger’s K-13 model.”_

Aneka nodded as she opened a slot under the table to produce a matte black box with the symbol of the Black Panther in the centre.

“ _Let us pray you do not ever need it.”_

.

Just a full-length corridor away from where Aneka watched the golden clouds, stood a vibranium door with a _do not disturb_ sign. Inside the room, purple hues danced across the walls encrusted with laboratory-made vibranium crystals at measured lengths, the only source of light being the LEDs at the centre on the roof, covered intricately so that the light touched every crystal in the room before reaching the centre. The wall opposite the door had computers set up to measure vitals of anyone present in the room, the frequency of the crystals and a collection of songs from all over the world.

In the centre of the room, Natasha lay on what seemed like a spa bed, her breathing in control, her heart rate normal. The screen on the headrest read her brain waves, picking on a certain periodic rhythm almost in sync with the orchestra playing on the speakers around her.

The rhythm was that of her smooth movements across the wooden floor inside her head, recalling the graceful movements of her ballet lessons. She could see herself in the mirrored wall of the studio. Her long red hair neatly tied up in a bun with a white ribbon. Her porcelain figure clad in black till her toes. Her eyes did not leave her reflection’s even as the rest of her body kept in sync with her old routine. After she was done, her hands, with a mind of their own, went to her old wound on her abdomen. Her eyes finally broke away from the mirror on finding nothing but smooth skin where the scar once was.

“ _Natalia! chto ty delayesh_?” a high pitched stone-cold voice pierced through the room, making her flinch and turn without wasting another second.

A grey-haired woman, with silver piercing diamonds for eyes, stood at the other end of the room. Her tall figure stood there, staring the life out of Natasha, with her arms crossed across her chest.

Suddenly, Natasha could smell the perfume around her. It was so delicate yet sharp that if the perfume had a physical form, it could pierce through the heart of any man within a matter of seconds and they still wouldn’t know what happened. 

“Madam Elena.”

She was surprised at hearing her voice tremble slightly as she bowed her head and stood with her hands holding each other in front of her.

She did not look up in the direction of the old lady even when she tried. An unseen force stopped her from doing so. _Facedown, chest out, back straight_ \- she kept reminding herself. A few seconds later, she heard heels click on the floor, drawing closer with every passing second.

“ _What did I tell you about losing your focus, Alianovna?”_

Natalia could feel the throb in her veins pick speed at the sound of Madam Elena’s voice. The Russian accent as crisp and cold on her tongue as the first winter she was made to stand out in. Naked, Natalia could feel the room get chillier than it already was.

_“That losing my focus and purpose would be the death of me, Madam Elena.”_

“ _Not only you, witch_.” another familiar voice called out from behind her. With the voice came a stench of gasoline and fire burning away dead bodies.

“ _Stefan!_ ” Natalia hissed through her teeth as she saw a shadow in the mirror.

 _“You were the death of all of us.”_ Stefan hissed as everything around his figure in the mirror started burning up.

Natalia backed away from the mirror, her shoulders finding their composure, her breath and her heart finding their steady rhythm as she looked down at the burning shadow of her old comrade.

_“No. I was not,” she could not stop the tremble of her words, her eyes moistening up, her breath running wild, “It was your choice to choose death. You all had it coming for you.”_

She looked at the mirror that, now, reflected only her own figure standing between the fire when suddenly Madam Elena’s face came out of the darkness and into the light of the flames, half of it burned to a crisp, her silver eyes still intact but carrying a menacing stare as they pierced through the reflection to Natalia’s gaze.

_“So do you.”_

Natasha’s eyes opened wide as her body jerked her awake.

She was back in the vibranium chamber. Her eyes tried to focus on things around her, taking everything in, noticing a chill around her chest. Her hands realised she was sweating. So had the monitors connected to the air conditioning around her. She got up, putting all her long fiery strands back in their place. She picked up her white blouse from the table harbouring the monitors and put it on. The black leather jacket went above the blouse effortlessly. Everything was done like one smooth wave rushing over to the tips of the beach, not breaking for even a second.

Aneka saw Natasha Romanoff came out of the _Ingcambu_ chamber looking more poised than she had when she went in. Whatever doubts the member of the Dora Milage had about this redhead disappeared as she saw her stand in the control room, taking updates from her as well as two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had accompanied them. 

The heli-carrier descended on a private airport strip near a forest just as the screens pinged with the recent location where Yuri Chekov was spotted ten minutes ago.

“Keiko, get the weapons. Brunn, bring out the lady,” Natasha said as the open end of the carrier welcomed them to a cold but colourful scenery.

Aneka too was dressed according to the weather in her red sweater, black jacket, black leggings and black boots. If she was carrying her spear, Natasha could not make out where she had hidden it.

Keiko came back running, carrying two huge bags supported on her hips. Aneka was surprised at the Asian’s muscle strength, something her cute face never gave away at any point in their journey. All she did was smile at the Wakandan throughout the trip to the point that Aneka wanted to make sure Fury had not sent some lost college student by accident.

Brunn, on the other hand, was a complete opposite. His tanned skin did not give away his roots while his silent demeanour did not give away his character. Aneka was just thankful she did not have to pass a smile every time she crossed paths with him.

“Wasn’t this a recon mission? What are the weapons for?” Aneka asked.

Natasha put on her gloves, still exposing her fingers to the sunny winter day. “They are not for me or you…or Chekov for that matter. They’re for Keiko and Brunn in case we make contact with Meldrake and have to perform a rescue for the people he trafficked here if he did.”

Aneka looked at how casually she spoke of the man and the people whose lives were in his palms. _Her work may be similar to our Nakia_ , she thought, _but she doesn’t carry the passion in her eyes as our sister does._

“Then what are you carrying to the battlefield?” Aneka asked the assassin.

Natasha looked at Aneka and a smile reached the latter’s eyes.

Brunn came out of the carrier gently carrying with him a bike- a Kawasaki Ninja, all in black, modified to some extent. Brunn was very careful with her, caressing her as he stopped beside his commanding officer.

“She has been equipped just like you asked, ma’am”, Brunn said as he brought forward the helmet that went with it.

She thanked Brunn as she took the helmet and balanced the lady in black by her side. “I’m carrying this to the battlefield,” she said after putting on the helmet and motioning her hands in an outward sway.

Aneka looked at the bike questionably before wondering if it actually was the _bike_ she was referring to.

Natasha motioned at Keiko, who skipped towards them and slid behind her with the grace of a golden retriever trying to find a comfortable spot. Brunn brought out a set of keys from his pocket for the SUV that sat by the hanger, about twenty feet away from them.

“Shall we, ma’am?” Brunn asked, pointing towards the four-wheeler.

Aneka looked at Natasha, who gave her an affirming nod before drowning the silence around them with the roar of the engine. 

Aneka and Brunn followed behind, keeping their distance.

 _She is not a soldier, she is something else and then so much more,_ Aneka couldn’t help but think to herself. And the thought was not a comfortable one.


	5. The Asset

**Time: 0815 hrs**

**Location: Vienna**

Lykke Li’s ‘I Follow Rivers’ played on the radio, echoing through the speakers overhead in the small square space of a reception. The walls were brightly beige; looking freshly painted yet never smelled like the typical chemicals that they were. The receptionist was a petite looking blonde dressed in pastel colours. She had scanned you from head to toe in one go when the latter entered the office on the fourth floor. 

“He’s busy with a phone call right now. He’ll see you in a moment,” she’d affirmed with a smile without feeling the need to pick up the phone or go inside the door behind her to ask her ‘boss’ about the appointment. You could smell the fishiness from miles away but you wanted to meet the man from last night and ask him to consider contacting the college healers group. You knew they could use the money and marketing right now to keep the Healers United committee afloat.

_ Oh who are you kidding, Keosha _ , you thought to herself,  _ you’re doing this for your selfish reasons _ .

“Everything okay, sweetie? You look tired.” The receptionist’s smooth high pitched voice broke you away from your thoughts. The blonde’s chin rested on her palm, eyeing her visitor interestingly, never breaking away from her smile as she waited for a response.

“Yeah, I’m good. Didn’t get a good amount of sleep last night. College, you know,” you answered with a weak smile before looking away.

The walnut sofa you sat on was just as mundane as the walls. The only thing you thought brought colour to the surroundings was a bunch of succulents kept by the window.

_ Sigh. This sucks. _

A soft breeze entered through the door you’d come in from. You looked at the entrance as if waiting for someone to enter.

_ Did I turn off the gas after cooking breakfast? _ Your mind wandered away, never stealing your eyes away from the door.  _ I think I did _ . 

The elevator dinged in the hallway outside.

_ What about the lights? Did I turn them off? Yes. Yes, I did. Harry won’t get up until nine-thirty. He doesn’t have a morning class on Thursdays. You know he looks adorable when he sleeps. _

You heard a pair of boots leave the elevator and enter the hallway, going quiet for a moment.

_ Did I wash the dishes?  _ An uncertain feeling entered your gut.  _ No, I left them in the sink.  _

The boots moved again in the hallway and their thump started growing closer. You could make out that they were careful steps, not in a calculated way one walks when one doesn’t want to be noticed, but more like they were used to the steady rhythm that caught minimal attention.

_ Did I wish Harry goodbye? _ Your last thought was one nauseating moment before a figure entered the door.

_ No, I never got to say goodbye to him _ , your thoughts came to a standstill as you perked up your head, meeting the figure’s eyes, catching your breath. Eyes went wide at what they saw, rather who they saw, alarms going off inside your mind.

“No,” was all that came out of you.

Your body started working on its own, grabbing your bag and standing up, moving quickly towards the exit near you, never looking away until the exit door closed between you and the, dashing downstairs like your life depended on it.

_______________

“That’s the building,” Keiko said over the comms as she marked the five-storey tall red-bricked structure she saw in front of her on her tablet, pinging the other team the location.

Aneka and Brunn parked outside as a lookout on the entrance while Natasha and Keiko took the back. Brunn mapped the building with the SUV’s biothermal scanner, informing the others of the civilians present in the building.

“Keep an eye out for any unusual movements,” Natasha’s voice called out over the comms.

“Roger,” Brunn replied before switching off the comms and turning back to Aneka.

“What are you planning Miss Aneka?” His brown kornerupine eyes stared right into her mind.

“Excuse me!” She spat as her eyes brought judgment upon the man beside her.

“You were clearly instructed by General Okoye to give the Kimoyo beads to Miss Romanoff. So, why haven’t you?”

His eyes did not leave hers as the screens beeped periodically around them in the SUV. The silence was unnerving for a spectator as neither of them backed down.

“I have my reasons,” Aneka finally declared.

“For going against your general’s instructions?”

“For not entirely trusting the Black Widow.”

A click sound called out from the screen. Brunn turned away from her to read Keiko’s message along with the location of the package’s cellphone pinging off from the building near them.

“The package is here.”

Both of them were already ready with their weapons by their side, patiently waiting for any movement to occur by the entrance.

Brunn had one hand resting on the wheel as he checked his watch and then the street outside. The only other visitor in the building was a couple who were crossing the street with their fingers entwined, smiling at each other before disappearing inside.

“What will happen when she finds out?” he called out of nowhere.

Aneka did not flinch by even a centimetre. Her breathing was controlled, as usual, her eyes outside, looking at a young dark-skinned man carrying groceries, having just finished a call. He passed the building’s entrance and turned around the corner.

“She doesn’t have to.”

Brunn did not pursue the conversation further. His eyes followed the same young man down the street as he walked to the building’s end and turned again, disappearing from their site.

A crackle through the speakers killed silence in the vehicle.

“Brunn! Aneka!”, Natasha’s voice ripped through, “It’s a trap! We’ve been had. Cover the back! Get the g-gghh”

Within no second the SUV was swerving to turn down the street.

“Brunn! Look!” Aneka shouted as she pointed at the scene unfolding in front of her.

“What the hell?” was all they could come up with.

_______________

“The traffic cams don’t show him leaving the building, ma'am.” Keiko jumped down gracefully from the bike while still marking all the cameras near the exit points of the building. “I’ll check the building’s security footage,” she added before skipping through building’s parking lot and disappearing behind the service door.

Natasha felt her phone vibrate. She moved it out of her pocket to be greeted by an unknown number.

“Audrey,” she greeted with her alias.

A chuckle came from the earphone.

“Still keeping the old alias, Alianovna?”

There was a moment of silence.

“Chekov.” Natasha never averted herself from the tablet in front of her that still showed no signs of him outside. “I was wondering when I’d get a call from you.”

She turned towards the service door and saw Keiko skipping towards her when she stopped midway, her face turning expressionless at Natasha’s gaze. Before she came over to stand by her boss’ side, she was already down to the three towers in their vicinity that were pinging the call.

“ _Aye Aye_ _moya_ _Rusalka_.”

Natasha straightened her shoulders.

“Always knows what to say when you talk. So tell me, have you missed me lately?” the scruff voice on the other side of the phone sounded like an overconfident high school boy talking to his crush. Natasha couldn’t help but smile. She nodded her head at Keiko in question as she responded to the flirt.

“To tell you the truth, yes, I have,” she disclosed, following Keiko’s signal. Both of them started moving towards the back entrance of the building. “But not for the reasons you think.”

“And I you, Natalia,” the voice on the other end murmured with veiled enthusiasm, “but definitely not for the reasons you think.”

Natasha and Keiko were inside, cautiously but casually moving towards the stairs near the elevator doors.

“And what makes you assume that?”

“Take the elevator. It’s a long walk to the fourth floor,” Chekov’s voice said matter-of-factly.

Natasha’s pace slowed down, carefully taking in her surroundings. Her eyes finally landed on the security camera perched up in the corner opposite to where she stood.

She smiled directly into it.

“So eager to meet me?” she moaned into the phone. A chuckle vibrated through the ear as she moved into the elevator, Keiko following her.

“The last time I was eager to meet you I was gifted with a scar down my chest,” he responded. “It still hurts, Natalia,” came a grumble of a voice.

A smirk crept over the assassin’s rose-tinted lips. “Good.”

The elevator hummed through the three floors, a monotonous melody playing over the speakers.

“I am eager for you to meet someone else today.”

The elevator dinged open and the ladies stepped out. “Your gift is in the office to your left.”

“What are you planning Chekov?” Natasha sang into her phone as she looked at the open door to her left. No soul was visible in her line of sight; just a window and tiny pots of succulents perched at the sill.

“I know about the weapon, Alianovna,” Chekov’s voice announced over the speaker.

_ So he already knew Fury had the information _ , Natasha thought to herself.  _ So that could mean _ -

“And I know someone who could help me get it.”

Natasha moved towards the office, her steps inherently measured, her body on alert.

“But here’s the thing,  _ Rusalka _ ,” he pointed out, “I have already shared the person’s whereabouts with the highest bidder.”

“Meldrake.”

Chekov couldn’t suppress his chuckle.

“So I thought instead of meeting you I’d leave you a gift this time.”

Natasha was almost at the door.

“I’m leaving you the person who knows about the weapon. But here’s the catch.”

Natasha entered the room, her eyes falling to the receptionist who waved at her while tilting her head in suave flirtation.

“One, Meldrake already has the address.”

She saw the receptionist nod at her, smoothly tucking her blonde hair back to reveal her earpiece.

“Two, the informant is a y/a old girl with no idea what is coming for her.”

She turned away from the blonde to look at the only person sitting inside the room. A young face with heavy Y/L/N eyes sat with her head thrown back into the sofa. The same head turned to look at Natasha- who could see the colour in those eyes change a shade as they went wide on seeing the assassin.

Natasha saw the girl gasp at her sight, a reflex ‘no’ forming in her mouth as she grabbed a bag next to her and ran out of the back exit.

It took a moment for everyone, even Chekov, to absorb what just happened. Keiko looked at her red-headed commanding officer for further instructions.

“Do you know each other?” his voice filled with questions and surprise.

“No.” So was Natasha’s.

An inconsistent beep on the receptionist’s desk brought everyone back.

“They’re here.” The receptionist’s soft voice declared. As if on cue, a couple walked out of the elevator, their hands caressing the weapons inside their long coats.

“Until we meet again,  _ Rusalka _ .” The line went dead.


	6. The Saviour

“Keiko, the girl,” Natasha ordered as she threw two beeping disks at the couple’s feet before closing the office door. A flash of white light blinded them while their ear drums were tortured by a piercing sound.

Keiko was already landing gracefully on the ground floor when Natasha made her exit. The girl was cursing as she ran down the first floor towards the exit only to be met by Keiko’s smiling face.

Before she could tell the girl anything, a dark-skinned man entered through the back door with a bag of groceries. He stopped short as he looked at the Y/H/C and then at Keiko before dropping the bag to reveal a gun with a silencer in his hand, aiming directly at the agent.

“Oh F-” the girl cried out.

“Get down!” Keiko cut her short as she grabbed the man’s hand pulling the arm up and twisting the gun out of the hold before jumping off the ground, into the air to land behind him as he tried to strangle her between his arms, finishing off with slamming him onto the ground and punching the daylights out of his scrunched up face.

.

You were rattled to the core as you got up and looked at the unconscious man lying across the floor.

“We have to get out of here. You might be in danger.”

_ Yeah, no shit, Sherlock! _ Your insides shouted as you opened the door and ran out, only to stop short. A dozen men clad in black tactical suits moved stealthily through the open parking lot towards you as one of them pointed directly at you and announced, ‘she’s the one. Get her.’

Keiko was already behind you, readying her weapons.

“Run!” she directed, “Now!”

And so you both did. You tried to keep up with Keiko-who didn’t even look like she was putting in her entire effort to run- as half the men followed you on foot, closing the distance with every passing second and the other half revved up their black SUVs at the end of block, all lined up to go for a hunt.

Your lungs were about to burst out as they reached the opposite end.  _ Fuck me for not doing cardio! _

“Shit! I’m going to die!” you wailed as your pace slowed down a little to let your lungs ease the fire burning inside them.

And a screeching of tires later a completely different vehicle came to a halt beside you.

“Get in!” The woman inside the SUV shouted.

“Are you going to kill me?” you had to ask.

“No!” Aneka, Brunn and Keiko shouted in unison as Keiko lifted you in her arms and dropped you inside along with herself.

Brunn was already turning away and into the other street his foot never leaving the accelerator as he swerved through the crowd. 

“I swear I’ve never done anything wrong in my life,” your trembling voice babbled while your shaking fingers tried to hold on to something that wasn't moving, “The only crime I’ve committed is downloading movies through torrents, I swear. I swear to God! Please please please don't kill me!"

“Who is she?” Aneka looked at your teary-eyed features as she put something back into her jacket pocket before bringing out two kunai like blades.

“An asset,” Keiko assured while readying her firearm.

“Oh, come on! I didn’t have the means for a blu-ray material back then. I still don't,” you bawled before pausing for a moment, “Wait, did you say asset?”

A piercing bang from the back of the vehicle caught everyone's attention. Two SUVs were already on their tail, firing their weapons at the car. Without any instructions, you slid down the seat to avoid any gunshots being fired at the bulletproof vehicle.

“Meldrake’s men are after the girl,” Natasha’s voice reverberated through the earpieces, “do not let them get to her.”

More shots were fired. You tried to control your breathing, to focus on anything but the guns going off. Your eyes rested on Keiko who tapped away on her tablet without breaking a sweat.

“I got them,” the agent stated calmly as she clicked on the tablet making the floor of the car vibrate for a second under your feet before an unnerving sound of cars crashing behind you made you rise up from your hiding spot and turn. The two vehicles had their one front corner stuck to each other, flipping and landing on the road upside down.

You could feel your body run cold at the sight of the crash as two more vehicles emerged from behind the totaled cars, men standing out of the both of them through the sun roofs with guns aiming their direction.

“They have snipers!” you yelped, your fingers digging into the top of the seat.

“Too bad for them,” Aneka stated like she was bored, much to your surprise, before removing her jacket to reveal a metallic arm band and motioning towards the sunroof she opened for herself, “we have arrows.”

…wait

Your brows rose up a little, both in shock and logical confusion, looking at the woman “How is that supposed to make you feel be-oh my  _ heaven _ !”

You gasped as you witnessed Aneka’s kunai stretch themselves into arrows while the arm band turned into a bow.

“The Dora Milaje,” you gasped to yourself, feeling all the hairs on your body rise on realising who she was, looking in awe as the Wakandan aimed and shot directly for the vehicle’s tires, sending them screeching into the ground, never letting the snipers take the shot.

“There are more in front,” Brunn shouted.

_ “Take your left. I got this.” _

No questions were asked as Brunn announced to hold on to something before he made a sharp left, never giving you time to process as you found you face smushed into the glass of the window.

.

_ Three down, four to go. _

Natasha had it under control on her side, giving an unsettling time to the men who'd been following her.

_ Easy peas _ y- her brain sang while measuring the distance between her and the truck blocking her getaway.

_ Lemon squeezy _ \- the bike was turned to slide under the moving vehicle, making the SUV following her lose it's balance when it tried to turn.

_ In goes Vodka, drives away freezy _ \- Bringing the gravity back to her ride, she drove in the nearest alley, allowing only the bikes to tail her, closing in on her, guns out.

Every turn she was making was leading her to more and more men on bikes closing in on her.  _ An ambush. _ The last option left is that one very narrow alleyway where no vehicle was daring to go.

_ Up rises fire, roaring, not breezy _ \- and she goes, jumping on the seat of her bike before taking one seemingly effortless leap towards the poles hanging across windows in the alleyway, stretching her legs over another, catching another pole to land on a temporary wooden roof only to jump from it in one slender motion to land on the bike. 

What waited at the other end was a hoard of cars ready to take shots at her right as she landed. And still was ready to rise up like a unfazed phoenix, ready to face the bullets as her eyes tried to work through any possible exit points right when a wave moved throughout the square, even reaching up to her like a gust of wind passing through every cell in her body. But what that wave did was not harm her, instead pull away the guns right to the point of its origination, that is, at the entrance of the square where a figure clad in black stood at the feet of the pedestal of Athene, waiting for every pair of eyes to look towards her before she pulled the tiny trigger in her hand, sending another more concentrated wave that sent the men’s bodies jolting, never reaching Natasha.

_Up come the witches, making demons queasy_ \- Natasha smiled as she got back up on her feet, picking up a branch from the base of a tree nearby to knockout one of the men still struggling to stand, not bothering looking at him as she greeting her saviour.

“I was wondering when you’d show up,” she announced, smirking as the helmet came off with the nanotech, going back in the necklace beads.

“And miss the fun?” Nakia stated with a smile as she came down, giving way for Natasha to notice the SUV with three stable and one terrified faces, waiting for them.


	7. The Flashes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love takes time. It isn't born in a day. Maybe that's why I hate its concept so much while loving it to the full. Probably that's why it's the third time I'm sitting down to write this story despite having abandoned it with no hope of returning to it.

**Time: 1000 hours**

**Location: Vienna**

The highest quality of teakwood, most expensive beige tiles and white paint that smelled like a walk in a pinewood forest- these were all the things you took in from the villa these group of buffed strangers took you to. Not to mention it being smack in the middle of a high-profile residential area where the personal property- along with your privacy- extended to nearly a kilometer. With two stories housing an open contemporary style house, the entirety of the villa's so-called four walls were just endless glass looking out at the green belt of shrubs and evergreen trees making up for the seclusion of the estate. Or, according to you, making up a hell of peeping entertainment window for all the nosy neighbours.

_Safehouse, they said._

_We'll all be safe here, away from prying eyes, they said._

_Let’s stay here till we know what to do with the asset, they s-wait._

“Here,” the redhead called out, gesturing at the sofa while Brunn brought you a glass of water, “have a seat. You must be quite confused by all of this.”

You took the glass and barely planted your ass on the expensive-looking sofa before turning to look at Red. “Confusion would be an understatement but yes.”

“Keosha, right?”

You looked up from the glass after gulping it all down. “I...never told you my name.”

“No, you didn’t,” Red affirmed with a smile, “this is Keiko and Brunn. That’s Aneka. Nakia. And my name is-”

“Natalia Romanova,” you finished her introduction for her, making Natasha question whether it was fear or awe she was seeing in your eyes.

“I go by Natasha Romanoff in my close circle but you’re correct,” she stated, sitting down opposite you. “I apologise for the ruckus. We had to get you out of there. It wasn’t safe.”

“For whom?” you asked, recalling the cries of those men tux as two women ended their careers.

“For any of us,” Nakia called out from the farther end while examined her gear.

“Why? Was it because of the creepy guy who walked over to me in the parking lot yesterday? It was _his_ office I was visiting today when all that...weird shit went down.”

It took a few seconds for you to realise how everyone seemed to be stirred into motion by your statement but before you could register and reason with them how you were in no way involved with that shady man, Keiko brought her tablet forward to show you a grainy picture caught by a security camera time-stamped for today right when you were in his office.

“Is this the guy?” Keiko asked.

“Yes! That’s him!” You were nearly shouting before the tablet was even in your hands.

Natasha and Nakia exchanged a look before turning back to face you.

“So, was last night the first time you saw him?” Natasha leaned over towards you with a look of curiosity, something you were not finding comfortable.

“Yeah,” you whispered, feeling a sudden rush of cold air run down your neck. “What’s going on?”

“Was someone else there when he met you?”

The cold seemed to run right along your spine, freezing it with the words coming out of Natasha’s mouth; your first thought just being the loud thumping echo of ‘ _Harry_ ’. “What’s going on? Who is he?”

Natasha and Nakia could see your instincts kicking in, going through all the worst scenarios. _So, there was someone else there._

“Keosha,” Nakia came closer to sit next to you, her accent heavy on her lips and in her voice, “we promise to explain everything. But you have to help us out so we can prioritise protecting the people we think might be in danger. Will you help us do that?”

.

“He’s fine. We have eyes on him. Our people will keep watch on anything unusual.”

Your heart finally let go of the strings of worry it’d been stretching for the last one hour. “Oh, thank God!” you whispered, rubbing your forehead before slumping into the bean bag. Natasha watched you pause in between the emotional crisis to look up at her and Nakia. “Oh, um, just tell your guys to not be shocked if he turns off the smoke alarm. He’s not a...good cook.”

And suddenly Natasha could see flashes of Tony making- or trying to make- frittatas for the gang before Steve had to run in with a fire extinguisher. 

“I’ll take care of it.” Brunn’s voice from the other side of the house- where he has set up a small security station of his own- broke Natasha out of some pleasant memories.

“Right,” she stated, wiping her hands off her thighs as she sat down in front of you in a bean bag.

A moment of silence floated between the two of you, your ears on alert yet your bodies taking in the rest after the morning you two had. It was a pleasant lull with a note of the unsaid assurance and affirmations. And unspoken fear of the unknown. Her insides were okay with the truce that had just happened between the two parties on the exchange of information but something inside her was afraid of still being in the dark. You were calm right now only because that man’s identity had been revealed and you were given the word of world’s deadliest assassin and spy that you will be protected. What was tingling under all of this was the presence of the Black Widow. _She doesn’t just appear somewhere. If she’s there, it means there is blood. There will always be blood_. All the reports you’d read after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. pointed to it. And what was your equation in all of this was still a mystery to be solved. That was what the Black Widow was thinking as well.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of much help,” you finally blurted, tired of keeping so much inside. “I wish I knew what this man was looking for. All he was interested in was the lame healing practices of my college committee.”

Natasha raised her brow, “Healing doesn’t sound lame,” she shrugged, “what kind of healing does your college group do?”

You forced out a chuckle. “Oh, it’s nothing. I mean, not something on the scale of what you and your friends do...did...”

Feeling the smack you got from your internal voice in the back of your head, you let your voice fade at the end of that sentence not sure of what the dynamic was between the heroes at this moment. But that did not stop Natasha from moving forward, letting her arms rest on her knees and one palm supporting her face, her eyes stuck on you, waiting in anticipation.

 _Oh, crap_ , you stated internally to her, _don’t look at me like that._

Sighing, you raised your hands a little, making them move about with all that you explained to her. “We-um...they’re healers in the sense that they use the life force flowing through them to heal things. And by things I mean, healing people, situations, diseases, ailments, uhh future opportunities. I know it sounds like a bunch of bull-”

“What’s our life force?”

_...did not see this coming._

“Uhh...it’s the energy. Inside us, around us. It’s present in everything.”

“Even in things that aren’t alive?”

“Yup. Like this sofa. Or my phone. Or your...that thing on your wrist.”

“When you say you can heal people-” Natasha’s eyes widened and her brows creased just enough to let you know she was calculating it all- “you mean you can heal anything about them?”

You opened your mouth to answer before stopping short and shutting it up. “What do you mean exactly?”

“Could you heal their addictions?”

“Oh, yes. I’ve done that once.”

“How about incurable diseases?”

“Yeah, don’t tell the pharma giants about these guys, okay.”

She smiles a perfect smile, making your heart flutter. _No one should be allowed to have that perfect a smile._

“Could you heal past trauma as well?”

“I’ve never done that. But I’m sure it could be done.”

“And future outcomes?”

Your lips make a thin line barely resembling a smile before you lean in over to her. “Okay, here’s the thing. I have healed the future. Or at least I have tried to. But the thing us healers had to keep in mind always while doing any sort of healing was that this life force has a brain of its own. It takes your effort to the point that needs to be worked upon. And often you find that _that_ point and your intended circle do not coincide. Not to be that guy but that’s where people start to lose faith and do not see the good that is brought because they’re too busy letting their vision be clouded by the one thing that didn't go right for them despite all they put into it.”

Natasha looked down at your hands resting on your thighs, trembling a little from the cold and a little from the conversation, unconsciously tearing the tiny lint balls from your warm leggings. “People are fickle with faith,” Natasha mentioned in her low voice, “not many realise its worth in the darkest of times.”

“Not much to lean on in the dark times when the hope goes away with that last ray, is there?” you call back softly.

“Is that what you tell the ones you heal?”

“Before healing others, we’re supposed to heal ourselves. Just like to protect others, you first need to protect yourself from the line of fire. But this all garbage now. I don’t do it anymore. I left the practice a long time ago.”

Now, Natasha was more curious than ever. “Why?”

You wet your lips and rub your hands on your thighs to warm them up. “Tell me what happens you try to defend a bunch of civilians like me from..say...huge scary aliens. One too many.”

Just as you posed the question, the creases on Natasha’s brows disappeared. “It takes a toll on you. You can’t keep up after a while.”

“Exactly.”

Both of you could smell the smokiness of the mac and cheese being cooked in the kitchen by Brunn, lighting up your previously scared and dormant hunger pangs.

“I was taught that if I fell, I should get up and dust away anything that says I cannot, even if that meant my death,” she enunciated, “but later on I found out that when fallen, you could have a pair of hands to help you get back up. To help you find the strengths you never thought you could have. Because it is difficult to find out your entirety by yourself, Keosha.”

You smiled and turned your head down. “I’m done with the whole healer business, Ms. Romanoff-”

“Natasha.”

“...okay. Natasha. It only seems appealing till it goes where you want it to go. And right now, I want to go devour that mac and cheese.”

Your words forced out a chuckle from Natasha. She got up to go to the kitchen with you only to watch you struggle to get out of the bean bag. “Looks like you do need a hand.”

“Okay, Black Widow, not everyone has an amazing flexible body like you. Now help me out of this cursed thing!”

.

It was hard to fall asleep. Harder to let his mind be still. Ironic, isn’t it? To be laying down in a spaceship that was floating in the vast nothingness and his mind was the one that was making the loudest sound. No matter how much he tried, the agitation did not stop.

Getting up on the makeshift bed in the back of the ship, he tried to take deep breaths to calm down his horribly fast heartbeat.

 _Come back_ , he told his insides, forcing his consciousness to walk away from the noise into the existing calm inside the ship, closing his eyes, letting his senses concentrate on all that was going on around him. The sound of controls, Drax’s snoring, Mantis’ flowy yet curious movements around him, the feeling of Nebula’s silent footsteps- his favourite- and sting of Quill’s glare.

 _Observe_ , he announced to his heart and head, calling them in to confer what it was that bothered them, slowly opening up the hatch to a path that led to all that had happened till now, making them retrace their steps back. Back to the gates of Hel, to those mysterious eyes, to the face of his mother, to the cold void, to the explosion, to...to the ship, to-

Blinding flashes of red, white and green played with his mind, bringing with them their theme- cries of tortured souls. But that wasn’t it. Images punched his aching consciousness between the blinding lights. There were too many. One of them was of someone falling down a cliff- a pale contrast to the purple hues of the sky in the back- once a picture of soothing green, once a painting of snow-like white; one of them crying for help while one smiled in satisfaction. Another image was a haze of orange surrounding him. Or that’s what he thought till he could hear heavy breaths echoing through his ears; breaths stifling the urge to cry or whimper. Once he even thought he heard a feminine voice cry out a name in despair before the orange haze was lit up by another flash and replaced with rusty darkness. Rusty. Coarse. Grained. Slowly replaced by smoke rising from torn up metal that once covered fingers. The tears and smoke went by the six gems resting in perfectly made slots, up the charred skin of the arm where itwere supposed to be protected by that red-painted metal. The image kept going up the totalled arm while a scream rose from a distance, breaking the gut-wrenching scene away to a figure in the dark shaking him while shouting with a piercing, broken voice, “SHE’S ALIVE!”

The runes stolen by Rocket from Knowhere fell with a loud clatter, disrupting all the activity in the ship to have all eyes on a breathless Loki sweating himself pale.

“Little God having nightmares?” Quill rolled his eyes before turning back to man the ship. Gamora, Nebula, and Mantis paused whatever they were doing to look at the raven-haired mess trying to breathe some life back in himself. Rocket and Groot tried to converse telepathically about the new guy so as not to catch Quill’s unwanted attention.

“What’s wrong?” Gamora asked, taking a careful step in Loki’s direction, who- by now- had dented the frame of the makeshift bed with his tensed hands.

 _Everything_ , he wanted to scream, his gut giving up on him, wanted to throw out anything that was inside. His head swirled. He tried to make the nausea stop by leaning against the wall of the ship, letting extra heat in his head be siphoned off by the cold plates.

“You,” he huffed weakly, his brows rising as he felt his insides turn once more, “you were suppos-hed to be de-ead.”

Nebula and Mantis turned to look at Gamora, their eyes trying to hide the shock in this sudden revelation.

“What are you talk-”

“How?!”

“Loki, you need to rest.”

“How are you alive right now?”

Mantis ran over to Loki- who was now clutching his torso for his dear life- and touched his forehead, feeling the burn sear through her skin.

“He’s burning up!” she cried.

“Put him to sleep!” Nebula ordered.

“What the heck is going on back there?” Quill shouted.

“Nebula,” Gamora forced her sister’s attention to herself, “what is he talking about?”

“Get away from me,” Loki hissed at Mantis.

“You need help,” Mantis announced, her resolute voice breaking towards the end at the piercing green eyes looking at her with nothing but threat.

“Mantis!” Nebula shouted.

“SLEEP!”

Within seconds, the agony-struck figure of Loki was limp on the mattress, deep in sleep.

“Now,” Gamora fumed, looking at the ladies, “tell me what he meant by that before I cut both of you open.”

Before anyone could say much, Gamora felt her shoulder jerked by Quill’s figure walking in the middle of the scene, looking around him in pure confusion.

“What’d I miss?”


	8. The Secret

**Time: 1400 hrs**

**Location: Vienna**

The prep siesta had partially done its job. You were snoring rhythms like a professional, your body splayed on that soft mattress that was going to make your back regret to ever have thought this expensive luxury could take your problems away for a day. Your lips parted, eyes moving under those heavy lids. Natasha couldn't help but smile on watching you like that- with no line of concern or some hidden worry. Though it didn't help the calculative part of her brain to wonder what had gone wrong and where to have you on your feet even when there was no threat. She had seen it- in your eyes; the perfect veil shrouding the fidgeting, your eyes darting towards the exit, the entrance and your own hands, those fluttering seconds when you would take a deep breath and blink multiple times to 'shake away' the moisture building at the edge of your eyes. _ Is she okay? _

It was one thing to be worried about her family, her team, but to be feeling the need to wrap you in a blanket, kiss your forehead, hug you and make you something warm while watching your favourite shows- all this time keeping her gun close to point at anyone who dared hurt you- was overwhelming. It wasn't like she hadn't mentored little Black Widows back in the day. Her instincts to teach the right and wrong had been polished since she could remember how to hold a gun. With you, though, it was a different emotion entirely. Whenever she saw you- including the first time you ran away- she would see this little girl with dense brown hair standing amid rubble, her brown eyes looking straight at her, her dusky features marred with dust and dirt, the tears making a muddy passage over her cheeks. Her image seared into the Black Widow's skull whenever she would watch you. And just as the image had come, it would be burned into nothingness.

Noon was slow. Brunn was stretching while keeping his eyes on the monitors, making a five-minute ‘dash’ to the kitchen for a bowl of fruits. Keiko stretched her legs in the lounge, never bothering to suppress her yawn as she let her head hit the cushion and get a quick shut-eye.

Natasha urged Brunn to go get some rest, but the man was too stubborn to leave. "I downed four cups of black coffee for this, chief. Don't worry about me. You should go rest for a while. I'll let you know when it's time for your shift."

.

The last room to the corridor waited for her. The turn and click of the knob were easy. The view of the beige coloured bedroom emanating warmth was nostalgic. All the memories of her and Bruce talking through the night on their last mission in Vienna seemed to come back in one heavy downpour. Banner's giggles, his gentle stroke of fingers on her cheeks, him moving her hair strands away and her not feeling the need to crack his bones because it felt nice. It had never felt nice before with anyone else. That window from where the noon was being reflected in its full intensity was where they first kissed. The only time they kissed. And then Ultron happened. Wistful memories.

Her finger ran on the edge, surging up every piece of that memory till it stopped at the part of the frame where the polish was scratched. Natasha ran her finger on the roughness of the surface, her fingertips finding powdered roughness sticking to them despite knowing full well that the house is cleaned every Wednesday in the morning. Today was Wednesday.

It did not take more than two seconds to figure it out.

_ Keosha. _

"WE'VE GOT COMPANY!"

No sooner did she blurt out those words than a figure all clad in black jumped out of the closet towards her, missing her as she bent away blocking his arm and aiming for his face with her elbow. The gun initially aimed at her was already falling on the floor with the man with a punch to his nuts. Before the man could clear the stars from his eyes, Natasha was running out of the room, hearing gunshots and furniture being broken- her mind only focusing the room at the opposite end.

.

It was a dream. But it seemed too real to be one. Flashes came and went. The smell of rocks just broken, the dust not settled yet. The odour of blood all around you. You could even taste it at one point. You looked down and saw your hands covered in them, not surprised. But beyond them, you focused on the familiar face lying still, dead eyes frozen unto you. That old face coloured in smoke and dust.

You wanted to call out to her, but everything crumbled in an instant, making you fall endlessly till you could feel your hands and knees over a floor glowing with the intensity of white sun with pulses in all colours of the rainbow, leading straight and far and...up? Your eyes widened at the ginormous tree with veins carrying the same sun till the tips of the endings branched out into infinity- into the galactic sky with a million stars and space clouds; out of which a pair of purple cloud and dust stood out.

You had to blink multiple times to witness those clouds transforming into the shape of purple irises looking right at you, growing in intensity by every second before everything went dark and you were left alone with your anxious breaths and a brain that was not thinking straight.

"Keosha!" A faint voice called out to you from somewhere. A whimper left your throat when you tried to walk towards the voice but could not see anything in the darkness.

"Keosha, you have to fight this!"

_ How?! _ You wanted to cry back. _ I can't even figure out where to look! _

"Look inside you. You are here. You  _ know  _ who you are!"

...

_ What kind of stupid advice is that? _

"Keosha!"

Your being tried to force itself out of this pitch-black existence, trying to find an opening; any opening. There was a glimmer of light, feeling like looking at something through the haze of a freshly awake pair of eyes or those which needed some sleep stat. Nonetheless, the outline of that pale face was hard to miss; especially when it stood out against the black hair falling from that head. There was a low and soothing, almost angelic voice saying something that you could not make out, but just as the haze started to clear, you caught a glimpse of eyes pure oceans of green looking at you with abundant surprise before everything faded into reality and you were being dragged off the bed while a man hovered over you.

"Hide!" Natasha hissed through her teeth as her hold left your feet and she sent a gun flying at the man with an injection in his hand, knocking him out there and then. You barely registered anything except your body rushing into the closet and closing it while Natasha fought off the bad guys with guns and knives. The grunts and growls coming from outside made every second a dreadful nightmare.

"Oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh-" you found yourself whispering as your knees touched your chest, your arms wrapping around your shivering legs and your eyes on the verge of squeezing shut tight right when the closet door opened.

You and the man watching you exchanged a glance for one silent second before you were trying to crawl further back in the closet. He was faster. You felt his hand wrap around your neck- forcing all the warning alarms to go off- and throw you out.

Had your motor response been even a smidge better, you were pretty sure you would have avoided your forehead bumping into the bed frame. But for now, curses and stars in red and the strangest ringing was all that you felt as you dragged yourself under the bed, trying to get to the other side.

The man did get to you again. Grabbing your leg to pull you out. "What the fuck do you want?!" You cried out your lungs while smacking your foot into his face, putting him off balance for a second; enough for the Black Widow to pivot around the leg of the bed, wrap his head in her thighs and smacking the living daylights out of him.

At first, the silence was a bubble of relief where you tried to breathe as much as you could, trying to find a footing as your disoriented brain swerved. But the low rumble made you realise it wasn't you causing you to go mad but the house shivering before it was to collapse.

"What's happening?" You questioned your sanity with wide eyes before your eyes followed the dust raining down from the cracks forming in the ceiling.

"Keosha," Natasha announced, her eyes stuck on the ceiling, her arms extending to grab you, her chest heaving with all the intended workout she'd just got, "get out. Come on, get ou-"

Her words were dissolved by the concrete coming crashing down, her instincts forcing her to throw you away from the point of impact but getting trapped under it herself.

What she did not expect was finding herself still breathing, her limbs intact, no pain except for whatever bruises had started forming in the fight. Her sweaty shivering body tried to regain the hold to reality, finding herself bent in a ball as the concrete that was supposed to kill her five seconds ago floated above her. Her eyes- for the very first time in front of a witness- showed true horror at the sight before they went away from the concrete to look at you lying at the other side with your back on the floor, your knees up, your elbows planted while your hands were up in the air as you grunted.

It took some time for the Black Widow to realise you were the one who had just saved her. Somehow you were keeping all of that killer rock in place right before it could hit her.  _ How? _

"Get...out!" you hissed through your teeth, the scrunch of your nose giving it away, "c-can't hold-"

You didn't have to say it twice. Natasha crawled from under there and dragged you to her side, letting the concrete slide off and destroy the west wing.

"Natasha, can you hear me," a voice crackled in her ears, "We're here. Get to the roof. We'll take care of the rest."

"Keiko. Brunn."

"Right behind you!" Brunn answered.

You and Natasha ran for the roof with the Black Widow taking down whatever she could find, this time not holding back and using guns when she had to. You two almost made it to the roof till one of the men caught you at the entrance, holding you by the throat with a gun pointed to your head. "The girl goes with us or she dies," the man threatened.

You looked at all the worry on Natasha's brows vanish without a trace, the bloodied pale face surrounded by fire suddenly very calm, her gun not rising above the waist in her hand.

"Let her go or you die."

Scratch the previous statement. It was Natasha Romanoff who threatened to make a negotiation with the calmest face that could scare you for years to come. Her eyes met yours before flickering to look to her left in a blink-and-you-miss motion.

"No?" she asked with a colour of innocence appearing for a mere second before her gun- right where it had been frozen- shot a hole through the man's leg, making you dash to your right to give her a clear shot at the head, painting the wall red.

The stench of murder was all around you and all you could do was keep your mouth shut to not cry, take deep breaths to not puke and hold on to something as not to pass out. You didn't even remember when you got into that plane. Neither did you remember a plasmic blast taking down all the soldiers outside at once. Or register Keiko and Brunn make one soldier hold hostage for future.

All you remembered was falling on the cold floor of the Quinnjet to pass out and dream of strange green eyes you had never seen before.

.

You were in and out for the next few hours, watching everything through a daze. One fleeting moment was of Natasha talking to someone on a glass plate. "Needs...safety...I'm worried...her." You thought you saw her looking at you before passing out again. Next, you felt yourself being carried in some pretty strong arms. Through the blur, it seemed like Brunn was the one holding you. A little turn of your head and you could see Nakia upside down, walking beside you- beside Brunn. "You okay, Keosha?" Nakia's voice sang inside your head and you felt yourself cuddling to the blanket of darkness again. Next time it was neon lights covering two figures by the window in some deep conversation.

"I have my doubts."

"We need time. There are a lot of other lives at stake."

"We cannot just let them come for her."

"But we need to protect her. We have no idea what they're going to do to her if they get their hands on her."

You wanted to shout in their direction but the pain and tiredness made everything go blank again.

.

This time you finally woke up. The smell of something cooking did it for your hunger pangs, forcing your feet out of this soft bed. You stood up to feel the after-effects of that hit on your head, feeling yourself swirl a little in the head before walking straight for wherever the kitchen was.

Somehow it pissed you to have gotten out of an expensive estate to land into another expensive apartment in some city somewhere with the tall buildings blocking the view to the sunset. Warm yellow lights welcomed you to the kitchen where Keiko and Natasha sat with their devices. You could hear voices coming from the other room. One of them was Aneka and the other one Nakia. And the former did not sound happy being alive as you.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Natasha greeted you with a smile. Brunn popped his head out of the fridge to hand you a bottle of water. "How ya feeling?"

You sat down to gulp the bottle, feeling the desert in your stomach getting some much-needed rain, earning a raised brow from Natasha and a giggle from Keiko.

"I'm good," you sighed, satisfied.

"Good," Natasha declared, shutting her computer down and shifting in your direction over the barstool, "because we have lots to talk..."

_...shit. _

"...healer."


	9. Chapter 9

“Identification.”

“Alianovna. I’m here to see your boss.”

The six and a half feet tall muscled giant looked down at the redhead with emotionless eyes, not making an effort to move even his eyelids.

“The boss isn’t in,” he finally huffed out, eyeing you standing behind the assassin.

“Really, Krugo? Do you want to tell your boss you made her wife walk away from right outside her door?”

Natasha could feel your eyes go wide with a muted gasp barely escaping your lungs. “You are-” you tried to hold the excitement within, balancing your voice- “married. Cool! Very cool! Cool cool cool cool cool cool!”

“Boss’ wife had promised me cookies,” Krugo muttered under his breath.

Natasha smirked and you felt the need to come into full view of the bodyguard with a huge box in your hand. “This must be for you then,” you declared, opening the lid to show huge chocolate chip cookies waiting to be devoured.

Krugo watched the bounty intensely before breaking into a smile. “You never forget.”

“Of course not, Krugo,” Natasha acknowledged with a hug for the cute giant, who went ahead and opened the door for her and you to be let in.

“How do you balance your-” you flailed your hands in the air for the shortage of words for what you were experiencing- “work and personal life?”

Natasha kept walking down the dark corridor till she was at the door marked ‘Restricted entrance’, turning the knob to open it for the both of you. “It’s not that hard when you and your partner are in the same line of business,” she put it mildly before directing you to walk inside the room equipped with monitors, recorders, IR boxes and whatnot. And in the midst of it all stood a woman with her arms across the chest and her demeanour that declared she ran the goddamn place without even saying it.

“Rosa,” the assassin greeted her wife with a tone dipped in the morning dew and spread all over the skin with the utmost tenderness by the lover.

Rosa was an entire world in herself from where you stood. Her soft curls ending from the raven hair into golden brown ends framing her face perfectly. Her lips wore a mocha shade- soft and notoriously sexy at the same time- while everything else was bare. She was dressed in a black blouse over blue jeans being complimented by a black leather jacket and for the second time in one day, you were starting to question your orientation.

“Tasha,” Rosa greeted back- her heavy voice a strong declaration in itself- taking a step towards her wife, bringing her hands to settle on her waist before running up her back as she kissed her. You pretended to find a coffee mug on the table interesting to give the wives some privacy till Natasha made introductions.

“Are we adopting her?” Rosa casually spewed while opening beer bottles for the guests. Natasha burst in giggles while you stood there confused.

“I am an adult,” you stressed, “a full-blown adult, in case you didn’t notice.”

“Beer, adult?”

“No,” you shook your head, “I’d prefer something stronger with the kind of day I’ve had.”

Rosa smirked and you could see the same movements that you saw in Natasha when she first had a conversation with you. She was already studying you up and down. “I’m sorry I have to ask because curiosity is killing me. Are you a black widow too?”

Rosa took a sip of her beer while Natasha sat in her wife’s chair and looked at her with her fingers resting on her lips and other hand caressing the beer bottle in her hand- looking like a human struck with love for the very first time.

“I was,” Rosa stated, sitting down on the table, one leg dangling, “but I got out of the system early and made my way through the world till I settled here. For now. Currently, I’m a Detective and a home-made jewellery maker. What about you?”

“I’m supposed to be studying Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Networks but I’m currently at crossroads with my career decisions and have a couple of nicely suited hitmen chasing me for reason unknown. Your wife says it’s something to do with some ancient weapon that someone might have told me about. But all things ancient- especially the secrets- that I’ve been told about are either violent, racist or incredibly sexist in nature. And none of them mentions any ancient weapons to take out modern Nazis or that creepy guy who keeps calling your wife a...a...what was that word?”

“Rusalka,” Natasha helped, making Rosa’s head whip in her direction with her eyes going wide.

“I thought he was dead!” Natasha shrugged at her wife's reaction.

“Why does he keep calling you a mermaid?” you were genuinely interested in knowing the history there.

“He’s actually calling me a siren when he uses that term,” Natasha mentioned matter-of-factly. Rosa shifted from the table to a chair beside Natasha, taking her arm in her own, letting her fingers entangle slowly to rub away whatever stress she could. “He has always called me that. Ever since we were kids.”

“...because you lured enemies with songs?” You tried to guess.

“Because I was made into a weapon who would lure the enemies with the illusion of becoming what they desired the most. A damsel in distress they could dominate, an invisible records keeper they could blurt out their secrets to, a useless spy they would share their plans with because they had big egos, a lover, a widow, a victim, an object of pleasure, a friend, a keeper. It’s really not that hard to deceive men. I mean, so was every other black widow.”

Your furrowed brows took everything in for those two seconds of silence. “Yeah, the mermaid thing makes sense if every widow was a siren. Mermaids are pretty badass too. On top it a Russian Mermaid? I mean-” you ended the sentence by mimicking an explosion in the head.

Rosa chuckled. “I like her,” she muttered into Natasha’s shoulder before turning to you, “have a drink at the bar. On the house. Tell them my name. And if anyone tries to mess with you tell them they rather mind their business if they don’t want to end up like Damon. They’ll know what it means.”

“Cool!” you exclaimed before going back out into the club, leaving the two lovebirds to finally get some alone time to themselves. Rosa took the opportunity to drag Natasha into the couch with her, wrapping her in her arms and cuddling with her; showering her with kisses till she could feel her wife’s shoulders let go of the stress they had been holding throughout the day.

“Tell me what’s going on, Tasha,” she softly spoke into her ears while Natasha played with Rosa’s hair.

“Whoever Yuri is working with is after Keosha. At first, the theory was that she knows something or has something to do with the weapon Hydra is after. But I’m starting to question that after she saved me from falling debris by just placing her hands under it.”

“What?”

“Yeah! Rosa, she was making chunks of rocks float! When I asked her she said this had happened for the first time. She said she was taught this old Japanese art of healing where the force of the universe is used to heal and protect things. She said when she saw me trapped and about to be hit by the falling ceiling the force worked like an adrenaline rush and she blocked it. Well, the force blocked it. That’s what she kept saying. That she’s just a medium and the force was doing all of it.”

“Weird but okay. Go on.”

“So, Nakia went-oh, she’s-”

“I know who she is. Go on.”

Natasha raised her brows at Rosa, turning her face up a little to be caught off guard by the little peck that came on her forehead. “Nakia talked to her sources and confirmed that there is an existence of monks in Japan who practise this form of healing and are said to take on anyone as a student who is willing to learn. And often in the past, they have experienced a short surge of that...thing to protect people during floods or some catastrophic events. In comparison, what happened today was nothing.”

“Okay. So, if she’s a noob in this healing thing, she won’t be of much use as a weapon to Yuri.”

“Right?”

“Maybe her teacher or someone like that is connected to the weapons?”

“That’s what I’m thinking. The last time the weapon was nearly in Hydra’s hand was in India. Keosha grew up in India till her father moved to Japan with her. Then she was between countries and continents for a while. If they had to come all the way for her, it could mean that the weapon wasn’t that country anymore. Or the person connected to it. And Keosha seems to be the only key.”

Natasha loved the rise of Rosa’s chest when she sighed, the former burying herself in that warmth and closing her eyes. “Looks like you have your work cut out for you, shortcake,” Rosa hummed, stroking those fiery strands to put her love at ease. “Hmm,” Natasha replied, breathing in the familiar scent of cocoa coming from Rosa’s chest, “I do. But for now, I’d rather lay here in your arms.”

.

The club was lit in a golden glow off the walls with a dance floor separated from the bar with a decent sitting arrangement right in the middle that faced the stage for occasional performances. You enjoyed tonight’s performance by someone who went by the name Serena with a Long Island in your hand and another on its way. It was relaxing, the serenade of the sweet voice mixed with whatever incense was burning inside this place to make it smell so good.  _ Wonder what Rosa’s looking for in such a place _ . 

“Hey, beautiful. Can I buy you a drink?”

You had jumped at the voice being so close to you before turning around to see a man leaning on the bar, next to you, almost at the edge of invading your personal space.

“I have one, thanks,” you politely declined, going back to enjoy the performance.

“Come on, sweet cheeks,” the man continued, stepping closer this time to raise all the alarms in your body, “let’s take a corner and get to know each other a little.”

Your brows crinkled hard and turned to face him. “I’m sorry, are you hard of hearing? Or is something wrong with your sight?” The man did not know what to say so you continued. “Are you sure you can hear clearly? Because I just said  _ no _ . And if that doesn’t suffice, do I  _ look  _ like someone who would be ready to bang the first person she sees in the club?”

The man made incoherent noises like a lost ostrich, not sure what to say. “She’s wearing a Hello Kitty t shirt with baggy jeans to a club, man. How could she not be more obvious?!”

“ _ Yes _ ! Thank you!” you acknowledged the other voice next to you, turning to see a middle aged man with a french goatee and shaded glasses nursing a glass of whiskey on the rocks that were raised in your direction.

“Aren’t you too young to be drinking?” the man shot his head back a little with a shade of confusion as he looked at you. You could not help but notice the expensive blue suit he wore to tell you he wasn’t some low life, unlike the other guy who made himself scarce as soon as the embarrassment hit him.

“Aren’t you too old to be wearing glasses inside a club?” you hit back, raising your glass to clink his.

“No, but seriously,” he continued after taking a sip of his whiskey, “you look too young. Hey, Marvin, did you check her ID? Did you come here alone?”

“Oh my G-”

“What! This isn’t a place for kids. Wait, are you safe? Are you in some kind of danger? Look at me.  _ Look at me _ . Blink twice if you’re being used by some shady peeps for some shady businesses.”

An eye contest later- which this man lost- you finally spoke. “I’m fine. I’m here with a friend. And I am an  _ adult _ . So, do you mind if I have my drink in peace?”

He raised his hands in peace and went back to his own drink.

A long satisfying sip later, something started bugging you. “Have we met before?”

“Me?” The man asked just to be sure. “You? I'm sure I would've remembered  _ Hello Kitty _ ."

You kept staring at him till your brain hurt. "Ugh! I swear I feel like I've seen you somewhere. But for some reason, you seem much...younger?"

The man feels his head jolt and his eyes nearly pop out. "You mean I was younger when we met?  _ Allegedly _ ."

"No. I mean when we met, you seemed old and...and wrinkled and definitely tired. Like  _ dead  _ tired."

Before he could say anything, he got caught in your eyes searching for something on his shoulder. "What."

"Is your arm okay?" You poked him over his blazer, making him smack yours away.

"Hey! My arm's okay. Don't  _ touch  _ me!"

"Huh...maybe it was someone else then?" You stared at his arm for a while before giving up. "You don't seem like the type to suit up in some weird funky suit anyways."

The man's back went straight as an arrow. "Okay, listen, young lady. One, no one  _ wears  _ and pulls off suits like me. Two, there hasn't been any mofo born who can do it like me. And three, why are we  _ still  _ talking?"

"Oh, I'm sitting here because you're giving off such a  _ dad  _ vibe that no douchebag has come over to offer me a drink. And  _ you're  _ sitting here because you are waiting for someone that clearly hasn't shown up yet," you concluded, popping a peanut in your mouth before taking a good sip of your Tea.

"Phone Call for you, Mr Stark." The bartender drove a metaphorical sword through the whole conversation with a wireless phone in his hand.

"Looks like you a busy man, Mr Stark. See ya later."

"Hey," the man addressed as Stark called out for you when you left your seat at the bar, "you better not be running into trouble, kid."

You guffawed, trying to hold your stomach to not barf any of the liquor you just had. "Thanks for the advice,  _ dad _ , but it looks like trouble is kinda my thing now."

With that last salutation, you tried to make your way back to wherever you came from- your drunken brain trying to make sense of the passageways that appeared in front of you.

In those very passageways you tried to make sense of dreams- the ones that reluctantly came to you- and some unrelated memories that somehow always found its way to mingle with the present, no matter where you were, what you were doing; there always seemed to be ghosts of the past revolving around you, questioning your existence.

“Stark,” Your tongue repeated that name, time and again, like some forgotten flavour wanting to be revisited by your brain forcefully. Oh...only if you knew.  _ Only if you knew _ .

_ I have to go to the loo. Where the fuck is the fucking loo?! _ It was a nightmare for two minutes before you finally found the door with the engravings shouting out “ _ female _ ” before you ran in and shut the door behind you and let the dams break as soon as the mirror showed you your sweet face.

You knew it was just the drinks but the feelings inside you poured themselves out, trying to find an outlet they could before they were shut down.

“ _ Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What the fuck is happening?! I never asked for this?! What the fuck is happening?! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! Oh Fuck! Why am I crying? Why am I CRYING?!! _ ”

As if to answer your prayers behind those closed eyes, you saw a green pair of eyes looking straight at you with the intensity of a thousand burning suns. “You are stronger than you give yourself credit for,” they announced in your direction, forcing you to get up and find your way. And so you did.

Turning the knob you barged into that one room you knew was safe.

“WE HAVE TO FIND MY MASTER, NAT! SHE’S IN JAPAN!”

It was one of those moments when- even though you were proud of yourself, you did not want to live anymore, thanks to the peak of drunkenness you were currently swimming in. The flush of heat in your cheek was proof enough to drive you out when you saw Natasha and Rosa busy in...having the time of their life.

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry,” you nearly felt yourself cry before bowing to the host and running outside, never remembering Krugo leading you to the VVIP lounge where the Stark guy let you sleep with your head on his lap while he waited for the news on his friend and gently patted you to sleep while constantly cursing himself and calling his girlfriend to ask what to do in case of a drunken kid sleeping in his lap.

.

Loki woke up with a headache- a low compensation for what he had experienced right before he had been tormented into a coma.

“What happened?”

Though the question was a genuine throwback from his end, it irritated the hell out of the sisters who had tried to mend the biggest crises of their lives seconds ago.

“You hit your head and went into a coma” Nebula narrated with ease and patience fit for a storyteller of the ancient times. “Here, drink this,” she offered him some water.

Loki, reluctant to be deceived by any more mind tricks, observed the water in Nebula’s hands before being convinced it was safe to drink.

“Why are we even helping him?” Loki heard Gamora utter those words before being given a judgmental stare by her sister to quiet down and let her take the lead.

“Are you alright?” the younger one asked the God with genuine concern in those beady eyes as she wiped away the blood from the wound slowly healing in Loki’ head.

Loki did not give a convincing answer before drowning- once again- in the maze of the leftover chaotic flashbacks he was witnessing of some life unknown- something different to his own existence before he regained control of his presence; his true present.

“I’m fine,” he finally blurted out, his hands still grasping onto the metal rod in the ship that was helping him maintain his equilibrium. “Where’s the loo?”

Even though it was satisfying for the entire spaceship for the moment, it wasn’t sufficient for him. He walked with a pretentious walk towards the loo before locking the door behind him as he tried to balance his mind. His fingers was digging into his temple while he was trying to get to the root of whatever he had been witnessing- the incoherent cries, tumbling buildings, fast-paced heartbeats, chaos and whatnot till he was focused on those y/e/c eyes reflecting the cheap lights of some shady dancefloor till they were mixed in them, dancing and mingling with them right till the second a heavy voice rang in your ears. “We have to get you to a safe place.” If it weren’t for the emergency, Loki’s subconscious was sure of having already mingled with the sweet poison that was those eyes and be lost in them.

.

You were sure you had cried. Cried while Natasha and Rosa tried to get you out of the club and to the plane waiting for you by the edge of the city, You were pretty sure Aneka wanted to throw you out of the jet if weren’t for Natasha and Nakia holding her back, asking you to drink water after every thirty minutes.

“Where are we going?” Your teary, subconscious state asked Nakia.

“Japan,” she answered before she was content that you had ample amount of water and that Aneka was at a considerable distance from you as possible. For now.

“Who is that guy with that long, black, sexy hair?” you asked a genuinely confused Natasha.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about sweetie” were the last words you heard before slumber took over everything in this dark world.


End file.
